This invention relates to an anchor for joining facing material to a mortarless block wall and in particular to a single piece wire anchor that can be securely joined to a mortarless block without the use of a bonding material.
In a mortarless block wall system, the blocks are laid in a conventional manner in horizontally disposed rows of courses with the vertical joints between abutting blocks being staggered. As more thoroughly described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,060, filed in the name of Haener, each of the mortarless blocks utilized in the wall system contains interlocking projections that allow the staggered blocks to be securely attached one to the other in assembly. The blocks are generally cast or poured from concrete so each contains a pair of parallel sidewalls that are connected by laterally extended walls. Through means of this construction a hollow core is formed within the block into which mortar or any other similar bonding material can be poured to internally join the blocks in assembly. In any event, the use of mortar or grouting in the block joint is eliminated thus dispensing with the need for skilled craftsmen and the like when erecting a wall. As a result, the block wall system and similar structures can be built rapidly and with a minimum amount of expense when compared to similar structures using more conventional mortared joints.
In many block wall applications, it is desirous to place a facing material or facade over one or both outside surfaces of the wall for either functional or aesthetic reasons. The term facings, as herein used, refers to any type of material that is known and used in the art for this purpose and may include such things as brick, modular panels and/or wall partitions. To preserve the integrity of the composite structure, the facing material is usually attached to the block wall using some type of retaining means. Conventionally, in a mortared system, a series of ties are laid within the block joints and mortared directly into the wall as it is being erected. The ties extend outwardly from the face of the wall and provide anchor points for attaching facing. The ties normally are metal elements having a connector that can be easily secured to the facing material.
Conventional ties, however, cannot be used in a wall that has no mortared joints. Placing ties on anchors in a mortarless wall system can involve attachments that require holes to be formed in the finished wall which tend to degrade and weaken the wall structure. These after attached anchors mauy work loose after installation further degrading the integrity of the overall structure.